गोविन्द भाष्य (श्रील बलदेव विद्याभूषण - अचिन्त्यभेदाभेद वेदान्त ब्रह्मसूत्र भाष्य सटीक)

avināśī vā are ayam ātmānucitti-dharmā "The soul's consciousness is never destroyed." The soul does not become conscious merely by contact with the mind, for soul and mind are both indivisible and cannot interact. Turning away from the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the soul obscures its natural spiritual knowledge. Turning towards the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the soul revives its natural spiritual consciousness. This is described in the Smṛti-śāstra: yathā na kriyate jyotsnā mala-prakṣālanān maṇeḥ doṣa-prahāṇān na jñānam ātmanaḥ kriyate tathā "As by washing away the dirt that covered a jewel, the jewel's splendor is not created but merely uncovered, so by removing the dirt of materialism that covered the soul, the soul's splendor is not created, but merely uncovered. yathodapāna-khananāt kriyate na jalāntaram sad eva nīyate vyaktim asataḥ sambhavaḥ kutaḥ "As by digging a well, water is brought forth but not created, so by spiritual activities the nature of the soul is brought forth but not created. How would it be possible to create the the soul's qualities from nothing? tathā heya-guṇa-dhvaṁsād avarodhādayo guṇāḥ prakāśyante na jānyante nitya evātmano hi te "When material faults are destroyed, the soul's qualities become revealed. The soul's qualities are eternal. they are never created." Here someone may object: These quotes from scripture merely show that the soul is synonymous with consciousness. They do not prove that the soul itself is conscious.